The Collection
by KitKraze86
Summary: The Animorphs story told by Rachel. Parts of each book and what may have happened in between. Character analysis, angst, lots of romance. Mostly RT and some JC. Lots of spoilers. Please R&R.


Hey everyone, this is my very first story about the Animorphs. It'll be narrated by Rachel.

It's a bunch of mini-stories about the Animorphs from books #1-54. Most of them will deal with either the effect the war is having on the characters, their personal lives, relationships, etc. They're all going to be in chronological order except for some minor flashbacks. I don't like having confusing sequences in stories.

**Important Notes:**

1. When the chapter is about dealing with what's going on in a particular book, it'll have the same title as that book. For example, the first chapter will be called, **"The Invasion"** because it's about some of the Animorphs are handling the fact that their world's been turned upside-down.

2. If a chapter takes place between books, I'll come up with a new title for it followed by a "". These'll usually be about the Animorphs' days off or random rantings. Easy enough.

3. There will be a lot of personal stuff dealt with in this story. Lots of romance too. Major R/T and some J/C so be forewarned. Also, lots of angst. As we all know, Rachel isn't the most stable of the Animorphs.

4. Please Review using constructive criticism. I'm fairly new at writing fan fiction so gimme a break. Also, if you have any ideas for chapters, feel free to let me know. I'm always up for a little help with my work.

Thanks a lot! I'll have the first few chapters posted up soon.

**The Invasion**

**Home**

I woke up to the annoying beeping of my alarm clock. Usually, I was a morning person, even on weekends, but today was different. I opened my eyes and stared at bright red numbers on the alarm clock.

_7:45am._

"Great," I muttered.

I probably got only 3 hours of sleep and I was still tired. I hit the snooze button and was about to close my eyes for a few extra minutes of sleep when it hit me.

The night before.

Walking home through the construction site. The Andalite - Elfangor. The Morphing cube. Us touching it. Visser Three.

No, it was all a dream. Wasn't it?

I knew better. Part of me wanted to cry and forget it ever happened. But I hardly ever cried. And I felt that forgetting would be an insult to Prince Elfangor's memory. He died a brutal death after giving us a gift that would save us, our families, and the rest of the planet.

I'd never forget that. As crazy as it sounds, I would never want to forget Elfangor and what he did for us.

I got up, rubbed the sleep out of eyes and put on my comfy pink bathrobe. I usually spent my Saturday mornings lounging in front of the television and watching tapes of my favorite shows. I didn't watch much television during the week because of gymnastics practice so I began recording them. I'd wake up early so that my sisters didn't bother me as I viewed them in the living room.

But I wasn't in the mood to watch TV. I thought of going to the mall and hitting up some weekend sales, but surprisingly I didn't want to. Even though I was the typical mallrat, the thought of passing by the construction site on the way to the mall made me a little nervous.

My thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. I picked it up. It was Cassie.

"Rachel, you should come over." Cassie sounded different. Too energetic for an early Saturday morning.

"Do you know what time it is?" I replied.

"Just come over. I've got something to show you. It's about last night," she insisted, her voice forceful. So unlike Cassie.

I sighed. I thought that if Cassie didn't bring up the night before, then maybe it never happened. Nice try, Rachel.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there."

**Cassie's Barn**

I arrived at Cassie's barn carrying a gym bag and some schoolbooks. I decided I would go to the gym later to practice my gymnastics routine and maybe hit up the library afterwards to get some homework out of the way. Anything to get my mind off of the night before. Cassie was already waiting for me and had a strangely big smile on her face. 

"I morphed," she said.

"What?" I replied. "What do you mean you morphed?" I knew I must have been staring at her like she was crazy, but she was making me slightly nervous.

"I morphed," she restated. "Like the Andalite said. I touched one of our horses and became one."

"You're crazy," I protested and started to turn away. "There's no way you-"

I stopped when Cassie grabbed my arm. I'd never seen this aggressive side of her. "Yeah, I did. Rachel, you know what happened was real. Elfangor was real. The Yeerks are real."

I knew she was right. "Yeah." I sat on a bale of hay in the corner and buried my face in my hands. A moment later, I looked up. "So. How... how was it?"

Cassie had a dreamy look in her eyes. "Amazing. I was scared at first. The morphing... it was an awkward process. But once I was a horse, I felt... free."

Cassie has always had a fondness for animals. Both her parents are veterinarians and one day, I know Cassie will be one too. Their family owned the barn we were in, which was also known as the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Here, they took care of injured animals from the area - everything from wild geese and turtles to raccoons and hawks.

The look in Cassie's eyes... I knew what that look was. Pure joy. For someone who loved animals the way she did, she must have been more than excited. Cassie has been my best friend since forever and knowing that becoming an animal was a dream come true for her made me happy.

I, on the otherhand, did not like the idea of turning into an animal. I didn't like getting too dirty. Sure, I thought animals were alright. I always wanted a dog. But turning into one? Yeah, right.

Cassie smiled at me. "Hold on." But she just stood there.

"What?" I was confused. But then I saw it.

The changes started almost immediately. Cassie slowly started to grow in size. Normally she was fairly short, so the change was pretty dramatic. Suddenly, two horse legs popped out behind her and I had to keep myself from screaming. Her muscles grew larger as her face slowly elongated. A minute later, a tail sprouted and the morphing was complete.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was insane. Cassie was a horse. I thought maybe I had gone crazy and let out a small laugh.

I jumped. "Cassie, was that you?" I asked.

"Yeah. I was just like the Andalite's thought-speech." I said, sounding amazed.

__

"Yeah, I guess so."

I got up, walked over to Cassie and stroked her mane. She was a real horse. This was all real. I took a deep breath and asked her the same question I had been asking myself since I woke up.

"We're really doing this, aren't we? What we told Prince Elfangor. The Yeerks really are here. And we're going to try and stop them."

I was about to say something, but she continued. 

I knew what Cassie meant and I agreed with her. A lot of people would say I was headstrong and maybe even fearless when it came to most situations. Growing up, I was never afraid to try new things. I never worried what other people thought of me. But even I had qualms about fighting the Yeerks.

Talking to Cassie helped me overcome those thoughts. Fighting the Yeerks was worth it. I think that any good person would see that. All people have different reasons to want to enter a war. Freedom was Cassie's.

I realized that freedom was reason enough for me too. 

**Three Hours Later**

I was on my way home from Cassie's barn. I decided that the gym and the library could wait. The weather was nice. Warm, but with a slight cool breeze. Jake, Marco and Tobias had come over after Cassie and I talked. We had a close call involving a cop who definitely may have been a controller. He was looking for the kids who "set off fireworks" at the construction site. Luckily, we were able to play it off. 

It turns out that Jake and Tobias had tried morphing too. It actually sounds pretty cool, but I was still a little hesitant on trying it mysself. Marco watched Cassie demorph from horse to human and looked like he was going to have a heart attack. The reaction was understandable, but I couldn't help laughing. 

We all realized it was best to think things over for a while. I knew I was all for fighting the war. I knew Cassie and Tobias were too. Marco wasn't. And Jake... I knew Jake would do the right thing and try to save the planet. He wouldn't let go of Elfangor's death. Still, we didn't want to make any rash decisions. Especially ones that could cost us our lives.

I turned the corner when I heard someone call my name. I stopped and turned around. Tobias was running towards me.

"Rachel." He slowed down and stopped in front of me. He was out of breath.

I smiled. "Hey, Tobias. What's up?"

He looked nervous. I could tell he wanted to talk to me about something. "Not much. Umm... mind if I walk you home?"

His face turned a bright red. I never liked it when guys wanted to walk me home. Like they thought I needed protecting or something. Jake and I had discussed this last night, right before we walked through the construction site. But for some reason, I didn't mind that Tobias wanted to walk with me.

"Sure."

For a minute, we walked in silence. I looked around the neighborhood. It was quiet except for the sound of wind blowing through the trees. It was early fall and the leaves on the trees were starting to turn from green to a bright yellow. It was a perfect afternoon.

Tobias broke the silence. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

Earlier, he had expressed eagerness in fighting the Yeerks. Marco had made a rude comment about him not being able to stick up for himself with the bullies at school. 

"Don't worry about it. Sometimes, Marco just needs to shut up."

"Yeah," he replied. "But still. Thanks."

I had known Tobias for a while now. Not very well, which I regretted. He had been in and out of our school for the past couple of years. From what I heard, he didn't have the best home life. His parents weren't in the picture and basically, he was passed back and forth between relatives.

Despite the sucky home life, Tobias turned out well. He was a really nice guy. Kind of shy and always had a dreamy expression on his face. Like he was thinking about another place in another time. We didn't hang out with the same groups at school and he was sort of a loner, but I made sure to always say hi to him when we passed each other in the hallways.

We worked on a class project together once. That's how I got to know him a little. Honestly, I wasn't into the idea at first. We were starting our first year as Freshman in high school, and I guess I wasn't the nicest person back then. Alright, I was a stuck up jerk. I had my center group of friends and Tobias was this kid the guys picked on. My friends made fun of me for getting stuck with a total loser.

Luckily, things changed. Tobias and I worked together at my house and at the library for a couple of weeks and we got to know each other better. I really admired how he overlooked the fact that my friends and I were so mean to him. I didn't deserve it. As I spent time with him, a part of me changed for the better. I wasn't so quick to judge him and other people. After the project was over, I ditched my old group and found better, nicer friends. 

I looked over at Tobias. He was looking up at the clouds.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Him," he said, still looking up at the sky.

I knew exactly who he was talking about. "Yeah, I was thinking about Elfangor this morning. No matter what everyone else decides, I'm gonna fight. His death won't be a waste."

He faced me and our eyes met. "I'll be with you." 

I felt compelled to turn away, but didn't. Instead, I smiled and nodded. Somehow, I felt more at ease knowing I wouldn't be alone. Even though two kids would hardly be a match for an entire alien race.

He smiled back, but I could see a sadness his eyes. "I never had a reason to fight before. Not even for myself. I guess I thought I wasn't worth sticking up for. But Elfangor - I'd fight for him."

Earlier, Cassie and I decided that freedom would be our reason to enter the war against the Yeerks. And now, Elfangor was Tobias's reason. In a way, I understood. Tobias had no one who really wanted him, no one to protect and take care of him. Elfangor's act of kindness and willingness to save people who were not his own had given Tobias strength to do what was needed. 

"Yeah, I'll fight for him too," I replied. "But you're wrong about one thing."

He gave me a sideways glance. "What do you mean?"

"You're wrong about yourself, Tobias. You're worth it. You're worth sticking up for and fighting for. You're a great guy."

He blushed and suddenly, I felt my face turn warm. "Thanks, Rachel."

We arrived at my house and stopped to say goodbye to each other. But then, we heard a noise overhead. I looked up to the sky and found nothing. But then, Tobias pointed at something.

"Look, it's a bird," he said, amazed. "It's a hawk. Red-tail, I think."

I was surprised that Tobias seemed to know about birds. I recognized the animal. Cassie had an injured one in her barn. It was a beautiful creature. Cassie told me it had put up quite a fight while her parents were trying to put it in a cage.

"Cassie has one at her barn. They're awesome. Strong and powerful. It's a beautiful bird. Not like the other wimpy ones that Cassie has to look after."

I glanced at him and found a pair of thoughtful brown eyes gazing at me. "Yeah. Beautiful," he whispered. Then, it was like he snapped out of a daze and looked up at the bird again.

All of a sudden, I heard a woman's voice. "Rachel! Are you out there?" It was my mom.

"Yeah, Mom." I answered. "I'm talking to my friend, Tobias."

"Okay. Well, hurry inside. I need you to watch Jordan and Sara while I go to the office to pick up some files." She sounded like she always did. Busy and in a hurry.

I decided it was time to say goodbye to Tobias. "I gotta go. I'll seeya. Give me a call if you wanna talk later."

"Yeah, okay. I will. Bye, Rachel." 

I walked inside and up the stairs to my room. I knew I had a lot of stuff to do. Yet for some reason, I felt a need to look outside my window.

Tobias was still outside, watching the bird perched in the tree next to my house. He had that daydreamer expression on his face.

"Hmm. Red-tailed hawk," he said.

**A Week Later**

It's crazy of us to think that we could fight the Yeerks. Animorphs, Marco called us. Animal Morphers. But in reality, we were just kids. Stupid kids with insane hopes of saving the world. But we all decided we would keep going. The stakes were just too high. Someone had to do it.

I was in my room doing homework. Well, attempting to do it, anyway. I had so many other things on my mind and I couldn't concentrate. Plus, math wasn't my best subject.

We had just come from the Yeerk pool the night before. It was a place where hundreds, maybe thousands of Yeerks swam to feed on Kandrona rays. The Kandrona was like a portable version of the Yeerk's sun. They needed Kandrona rays every three days in order to survive. Yeerk pools were necessary on Earth to aid the Yeerks in taking over the planet.

The Yeerk pool was also the place where humans were infested.

Cassie had come close to becoming a controller. The cop we met a week ago had caught her trying to eavesdrop on a meeting of The Sharing. It was a Yeerk front used to lure in potential hosts. She had evaded him, but he decided it was best to take her and make her one of them just incase.

The filthy Yeerk.

I hated them all. The Yeerks. What right did they have to take over people's lives? They were highly intelligent creatures. So why didn't they realize how wrong it was to infest other species?

I didn't want to think about it anymore. I hated them for what they were doing. I hated them for what they were.

I hated them for killing Tobias.

No. He wasn't dead. At least I didn't know if he was. None of us knew what happened to him. The others and I managed to escape alive and well. But Tobias wasn't with us. I wanted to go back, but Jake told me we couldn't lose another. I was indispensable. We all were.

It made me feel guilty that I was safe and Tobias was missing. And I was slightly mad at Jake for it. But, I knew he was right. We were new at this and totally inexperienced. We couldn't afford to make many mistakes. Still, I needed to be mad at someone.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

I whipped my head towards my bedroom window. It was dark out and I couldn't make out anything.

TOBIAS!

I ran to the window and let him in. He flew in and landed on my desk. His feathers were ruffled and he looked agitated.

I ran to him and tried to put my arms around him. But of course, it was hard to hug a hawk. "Tobias, you're okay!" 

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. "I was just so worried about you. We didn't know where went. I wanted to go back, but Jake thought it was a bad idea."

He began preening his feathers.

"Come on, Tobias." I said getting up. "Demorph and we can talk some more. I can sneak downstairs and get us some ice cream. Maybe we can watch a movie."

He was quiet for a moment. <Rachel...>

I knew what he meant by the tone in his voice. I felt the tears well up in my eyes, but I held them back. I stroked his head with my hand.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. It was all I could say. What could anyone say to make the situation better? Nothing.

He nuzzled his head against my hand. __

I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks. I never cried, but thought of sweet, gentle Tobias trapped in the body of an always fierce-looking hawk broke my heart. He deserved better than what life had given him. He had no parents, no real family to speak of. And now, he didn't even have his human body.

I dried my eyes. If Tobias needed me to be strong, I would be. He could draw on me for strength. I would do that for him.

Tobias may not have had much. No family, no home. But he had me.

And I would fight until the Andalites came. To save the world. For my friends and family. For Tobias.

The Yeerks would pay. I'd see to that.


End file.
